The Globe and Mail is reporting that CBC people represented by the Canadian Media Guild -- which, to say, is a lot; about 5,500 -- could be walking off the job on Monday if negotiations don't pick up.
An excerpt:
Talks were suspended Tuesday, and the two sides were working to resume negotiations yesterday.
Some areas of agreement have been reached, including policies on harassment and employment equity.
It is CBC management's position that because much of the industry has shifted to contract work, particularly for the production of cable-TV shows, the network also needs that kind of flexibility.
Jason MacDonald, a spokesman for the CBC, said the network exists in multiple media from radio and television to the Internet, with multiple competitors. "And if you look at the broader communications world that we are competing in . . . you'll see that there is a trend toward a contract-employment model. And if you look at the CBC, this isn't new."
Approximately one-third of CBC staff is already working on a contract basis. This not only includes workers filling in for others on leave, but also staff hired for new shows still going through growing pains, such as the current-events program The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos, Amber said.
Yet the CBC's insistence on hiring more contract workers isn't following the example of other networks, such as CTV, Global and CHUM, who still hire more on a permanent basis, Amber argued.
An e-mail from the union to its members suggests how firm CBC senior management is in its position.
It quotes a CBC contract negotiator as saying, "This is the mandate for us and the mandate is very clear. We need flexibility. We realize where this may lead us, and we're prepared to deal with the consequences."
The company has given the union an ultimatum, Amber said, "that we have no way of accepting.
"They basically told us on Monday night that unless we accept the principle that they have the right to do this, they're not even going to want to negotiate the terms by which they can do this."
CBC management contends there was no ultimatum and that it does not want a strike or lockout.